Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Ross Manning - Reflex In Waves [Room 40 Promo]

Put on the circuit in October, 2k17 via the Australian Room 40 imprint is Ross Manning's latest album entitled "Reflex In Waves" which accompanied his first major survey exhibition named "Dissonant Rhythms" earlier this year. Following his approach of recording and pitch shifting sounds created on mainly self-built instruments we see the Brisbane-base artist open this longplay effort with "Three Tuned Sets In Crystal", a short trip into percussive, slightly ritualistic repetetion of metallic tones kinda resembling Asian drums and instruments used in meditation and ceremony whereas "Where Points Meet" picks up on a similar level but covers the overall feel in loads of echoes and reverbs to a point in which one gets a whole well-blurred crescendo of sorts accentuated by warm, single bass bits before the second part of the tune unveals a clearer, yet multilayered sonic picture of a well solemn nature, once again disintegrating into a Noize (Not Noize) state later on. The title track "Reflex In Waves" starts off with seemingly random metal percussion improv and various kettle clangs falling together in a more structured manner throughout the tracks course before "Small Increments" bring in a kind of crystalline buzz of sorts and the approx. 11 minutes spanning album main piece "Braking Formations" seemingly fuses bits of Field Recordings with intense midrange drones, eerie noises and varied layers of agitated, partly harsh pops, crackles and screeches to a nerve-wrecking effect and the final cut "Cross A Strings" goes back to the more ritualistic, multilayered, percussive approach of the albums starter, although focusing more on wooden or ceramic drums rather than on metallic sound effects. Not an easy one to embrace, but an interesting one for sure.